1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to growth of single crystals from molten solutions and, more particularly, to the production of silicon carbide crystals from a weak solution of carbon in silicon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Silicon carbide is of considerable interest because, as a large bandgap semiconductor, electronic junction devices made from it can operate at much higher temperatures than those made from germanium or silicon. However, no successful technique has been devised to grow large, pure single crystals of silicon carbide. It cannot be solidified from the melt at reasonable pressures. It has been grown from molten metal and molten silicon solutions. However, the very low solubility in molten metals allowed only small crystals to be grown. The usual method of producing silicon carbide crystals is by decomposition of SiHCL.sub.3 and a hydrocarbon gas such as methane from the gas phase which deposits onto a substrate. This process is complex, difficult to control and limited to production of small grain, single crystals of 1 cm or less.